“No one is bothered for no reason.” He pins me with his stare. “What’s going on with you?”
What am I supposed to say? My wolf wants to rip that Shaman girl’s throat out?I need to change the subject, so I ask, “Was she lying?”
“Rhiannon.”
“Was she?”
He looks at the ceiling for a beat. “No. She wasn’t.”
I stare at him. “I’m shocked by you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I scoff. “Do you really think thatbothof them are telling the truth? She’s obviously the one that is lying, and you’re just covering for her because— because—”
Ethan raises another eyebrow and suddenly, I’m really embarrassed. “Ugh, never mind.”
A laugh escapes him.
I glare at him. “You think this is funny?”
“A little...” He grins.
I turn away from him with an angry pout, my shoulders tense, my whole body rigid. My wolf whimpers at his teasing.
“Come on. Don’t be like that.” He nudges me with his shoulder, the brief contact sending a familiar ripple of heat through my body. His scent — that intoxicating blend of cinnamon and musk — fills my senses, making it harder to keep my head straight.
“Don’t you have someone else to annoy?” The words come out half-hearted and I know it.
“You know you’re my one and only.” He playfully raises his eyebrows twice and flashes that boyish grin again, the kind that crinkles the corners of his jade-green eyes and reveals the dimple in his left cheek.
That damn smile melts my irritation faster than snow in summer.
“Seriously, though,” Ethan leans closer. “Why don’t we go somewhere private to talk through what we know about Jayme and Haron?”
“At this hour?”
“C’mon, like you’re going to sleep with all the excitement tonight.” Ethan squares his shoulders, his muscles taut beneath his shirt as his arms lock across his chest. “There’s gotta be something we’re missing here. Maybe we can figure it out if we don’t have to worry about a walking lightbulb coming to interrupt us and tell us we’re not trying hard enough.”
Walking lightbulb.I have to laugh at that.
He’s right, though. There’s no way I’m getting any sleep tonight, not until we get closer to the truth.
“I know a place,” I say, already turning down the corridor. “Follow me.”
Chapter 17 — Rhiannon
Just outside the gates, a hundred or so paces away, is a little pond with a canopy of trees around it. The branches there have grown so wide that they nearly blot out the sky.
Except for in one spot, that is. As we make our way through the woods, I expect Ethan to start complaining about how far we’re going from the fortress, but he doesn’t. He just follows me without question, trusting that I know where I’m going.
The way his faith in me works is so strange to me, especially when I think about how long it took Thea to fully accept her life here with us. Maybe it’s because his uncanny perception shows him our true intentions.
As we get deeper into the woods, he takes my hand. His night vision isn’t as good as mine, so I need to guide him to make sure he doesn’t lose his way. I keep my nose to the wind, picking up the distinct smell of the pond almost immediately.
“Almost there,” I say to him. “Watch your step.”
I pull back a large swatch of bushes, clearing a path to the pond partially lit by moonlight. As we stand on the shore,I notice him smile with wonder. His eyes study the branches stretching out and partially obscuring the sky, giving only glimpses at the sea of stars above us.
